Winded
by Elamac
Summary: First night of their suspension, and Andy is definitely not ok. A one shot.


_Hi – I just had to write something else so here is a one shot...sorry, I'm in a sappy mood. This is after the ending scene of Season 2, their first night of suspension._

After turning on the heat and making a quick tour of his house, Sam returns to the kitchen. Andy is putting away the last of the few grocery items they grabbed on the way home. They had assembled and devoured sandwiches as soon as they entered the cold, deserted house. Hunger had overtaken them completely.

The ride from the station to his house had been well...interesting. Talk had been small, when there was so much to say. Andy was trying, she really was, but Sam could tell she was terrified. Each conversation he initiated, she tried to take part, but could only manage to answer in a basic way. He noticed she had an expression on her face he has seen before. When she chases down a runner and she has given it her all, she completely exerts herself to the point where she can't breathe. She wears this expression now, without the gasping for air.

This expression was accompanied by silence. At work she would sometimes become eerily quiet, overcome by her own thoughts. Times when she was scared, of a suspect, of failing, and there was not enough chatter she could muster to make herself feel better. Just like now. It was something Sam would never get used to.

Yes, he was definitely aware that she was not ok by any means. He looked at her in the kitchen for what seemed to be the hundredth time, a slight furrow in her brow and a slight frown to match. A mix of fear and guilt, he decided, but mostly fear. He picked up the aspirin bottle and took a couple, trying to combat the aching. The physical pain he was feeling was nothing compared to the heaviness in the air.

Sam knows Andy well, and knows he can force her into talking and get everything she's feeling out. But he opts to remain silent for a while longer. The fact is, while he's seen her upset in the past, the pain that he sees in her this time is far greater. When she comes to terms with all this she will not be in good shape.

So he waits. He cleans up, finds things to check on, and focuses on anything else but the pain he's feeling.

He goes into his bedroom and starts to get ready for bed, changing his shirt quickly before she sees the mess of him underneath. That would be enough to send her packing, thinking that she was the cause of it. He had told her in the truck that it was Boyd who made him, that Boyd had given him an incomplete cover with a boat name from a previous case. He had seen a brief flash of relief across her face but it hadn't lasted long.

After wandering back out to lock the door, he finds Andy sitting on his couch in his overly quiet living room. He takes her hand and pulls her up off the couch and she follows him, still silent. After giving her a t-shirt and boxers to sleep in, Sam disappears into the bathroom. When he returns, she is changed and under the covers, on her side facing the middle of the bed. He climbs in on the other side and mirrors her.

He looks at her, _really_ looks at her and the fragile state she is in and she returns his stare. For the first time that night, he sees her open up to him. For the first time she doesn't look away, and for the first time she lets him see the fear in her eyes. She doesn't need to speak a word, he can see without a doubt that almost losing him has scared her beyond belief.

He reaches out with his good arm and pulls her to him, resting his other around her waist. They are still facing each other and he slides her tightly to him, bringing her face into his neck . Her arms are bent and against his bruised chest and Sam hides any discomfort he feels. He needs her to let it all out before he can begin healing himself.

And then it happens. Finally. He feels her breath catch and then a dampness against his neck. He pulls her tighter to him. He doesn't say anything, he just holds her tighter. Her breath catches again and he can feel her steady stream of tears falling between them. Again, he strengthens his hold and he can feel her press her face further into him. He exhales.

She'll be ok, he knows this now.


End file.
